Cecil Gershwin Palmer
Personality Cecil is a mostly serious but cheerful host of the radio program and takes his job very seriously. He is very fond and proud of the town of Night Vale, despite its many horrors and will often provide comfort for the residents of the town during times of uncertainty or danger. However, he is also quick to praise the City Council, the Sheriff's Secret Police, and any of their policies, no matter how draconian. His views on many social issues seem surprisingly liberal for a police state such as Night Vale, but he will sometimes make strong conservative statements out of the blue also. His broadcasts require a tremendous amount of cognitive dissonance, as the information is often contradictory, contains impossible instructions, or is banned midway through and must be renounced. He occasionally gets in trouble with Station Management for describing things which are indescribable or discussing things that are not supposed to be discussed, and he openly worries that he might get in trouble with the police for his comments. Despite this, he remains enthusiastic about all upcoming events, even those involving death and destruction—so long as they are scheduled by the city's leaders, of course. He claims to take part in these events, though it is unclear if he is only saying that for the show or not. Sometimes, he describes events as they are occurring, despite being in the booth at the time, although it is mentioned that he often receives faxes and phone calls from listeners on events. Cecil's sense of self preservation in the face of the many horrors of Night Vale is often as questionable as that of the town's other residents and he will sometimes casually put himself in situations that could well be dangerous. Notably, in episode Subway, where he leaves the studio to board the menacing Night Vale subway system, despite the fact that he hasn't seen anyone exiting it and his Intern never returned from riding it. However, Cecil is certainly not immune to Night Vale's horrors and is also shown to be rendered utterly helpless and terrified by other events that happen to him. When he is stuck in Kevin's recording booth in Desert Bluffs he becomes extremely distressed by all of the blood and entrails all over the room. He's afraid of the doubles, especially his own and he's also described cowering under his desk while being hunted by his menacing boss(es), the Station Management. He describes the strange children that are sent to him with messages as "deeply unsettling" and seems to be nervous around them. History Cecil probably grew up in Night Vale, it's implied that he went to school there and he briefly talks about his mother, who is described as being as strange and disconnected as the other town residents. He notes that he misses her, so she may have either left Night Vale, or died/been killed. He claims to have traveled to Europe during or after college, though he is not a reliable narrator (something he realizes and mentions occasionally), and it is unclear if those events actually took place. Cecil specifically mentions the countries of Svitz, Franchia, Luftnarp and seems completely unaware that they don't actually exist anywhere in Europe. Otherwise, he has never mentioned leaving Night Vale and seems unaware of conditions outside of it. He does not have much knowledge of astronomy, as he does not know what the moon is and doesn't believe in the existance of mountains. He often doubts his own existence and the existence of other people. Relationships Cecil is deeply enamoured with Carlos the Scientist from the very first episode, stating that he "fell in love him instantly" and frequently gushes in lyrical prose over his beautiful appearence and great intelligence on the radio, to the point of being threatened by Station Management to change topics. Cecil speaks several times on the show about asking Carlos out on a date, but Carlos always either turns him down, or doesn't seem to realise that Cecil assumes their meetings to be dates. However, at the end of episode 25, after a near-death experience, Carlos finally returns Cecil's affections and by episode 27 the two have begun dating. It is implied that Cecil may have had a previous relationship with Scout Master Earl Harlan in episode 23, Eternal Scouts. He harbors a deep disgust for Desert Bluffs, presumably because of town rivalry, the Apache Tracker, for being a racist and culturally appropriative "asshole", Steve Carlsberg, for reasons yet unknown and Telly the Barber, for cutting Carlos' beautiful hair short. Trivia * He is named after the real-life narrator of the podcasts, Cecil Baldwin, who lives in New York. *He claimed to be fighting lyme disease during Station Management, though we haven't heard anything else about it since. *He has admitted to owning a hamster with an unknown name, but the hamster died two weeks after being in Cecil's care. *He claims not be to a cat person but has grown very fond of Khoshekh, the floating cat in the men's bathroom at the station and he is also heard gushing over the cuteness of a cat video he saw on the Internet (presumably the YouTube famous 'Maru-chan'). Category:Characters